scary situation

My dogs are NEVER hit, I don't don't believe in it. But I smacked each on the Butt with the flat side of the paddle making a very loud noise and also a significant sting I am sure , everyone tucked tail and split in different directions. Bear in mind THESE dogs live together and love each other. They feed next to each other, they play together endlessly , they have spent much of thier lives together.

Yes, I understand!    You have full understanding of your own dogs.  And the limits are there for the dogs to heed. Mine are just like this you describe.  These two have never been allowed to carry on w/out being stopped directly!  And basically it just hardly happens that they have a problem with each other.  They do love each other endlessly!  But one time I was doing dishes and there was a skirmish behind me, over what I have no idea...probably a scrap of food...And I just shreaked from surprise and they stopped dead in their tracks, looking like the naughty dogs they were!  LOL.... I love those beasts!

It is sad that they are risking the dog's health and future because they want to "trust" an animal that doesn't even belong to them.  And it has little to do with breed, the eye contact is enough to assure me this dog would have been a probable threat.

Yes, Bonita this is soo true. I don't know how many times I have heard folks speak like this, so much false reassurance goes on with these owners and always of unleashed dogs especially on the beach. I just hate it.  The guy that was watching the dog is not a bad man, but just naive about dogs.  He thinks he knows and he does not.  Which is in essence dangerous!  Plus it is the law to have dogs leashed, it does protect all concerned!

dogslife

You all have great responses!  I think if you actually saw the sitch we were in you would have recognized how serious this really was potentially.  This dog did have the stance, and the glare. He did not move an inch when I spoke and my two dogs were quiet and stayed right with me here.  There wasn't any tension in my dogs. Not at all.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but this statement makes me wonder if you were reading the dog's body language correctly.  Dogs are the very best interpreters of such things, and even my lab, who is one of the most socially laid back dogs I know, would have taken notice of a dog giving him the death stare.  The fact that your dogs were totally chill about the whole thing makes me wonder if they knew something you didn't.  I could be wrong though--just throwing that out there.

Jack, who is a lab, does a similar stance when he is alerting to something.  He usually does not react that way to dogs, but when I have bee out hiking and there is a strange man approaching, he does what you describe--still, alert, tail straight out and a bit above his topline, etc.  it's like he is sizing up the person.  Sometimes he barks and sometimes he doesn't.  However, he has what I would consider to be a very stable temper.

Well, you have kind of expressed what I have been saying all along. This dog was unreadable. He was not wagging a tail or doing anything that most dogs would have done.  Hence, unreadable.

My dogs are always cool, except when that gap gets closer and then there would be no chance to make any other decisions- good or bad!

Point of the thread is to hash out what kinds of things could be done to assure that no harm would be done and what would be the best things to do in such a potential situation.

Of course, maybe this dog was just deaf, or other non visible properties that would not constitute danger...The question is that how are you to know this as a fact?  Simply guesswork in any case ...

If I only had one dog this could have been half the problem.  But it was as it was, between the rock and the hard place.  Dogs are under rule of leash law for a very good reason.  It prevents us from dealing with this the minute we step out the door.  And of course, some meetings of dogs are going to be ok, in fact most of the time.  But when you are the human w/ 2 leashed highly active animals and you have a unleashed, unknown with stocky behavior and unreadable ...And this dog did not live at this home he was out in front of. I do not know where he lives, never saw him before this...I know just about everyone around here amazingly enough. 

You are right, I could not tell what was going to happen next.  But I know my own animals.  My male would not tolerate a stoic animal looking after his sister is one fact that would have made an issue...This other dog was a male...and may have been intact.  If it were a female, I would have been less worried for the given sitch.

It would be cool if I could have made a tape of the sitch and re- review it with others here.  I know that when we get uptight about something, you can miss signals or be hyper alert to them...But all I have is what I saw, and I was there- which of course makes it hard for others to be able to really judge it well.

It was just an unusual sitch. I haven't met up with a dog that would not make any effort to alter his behavior after all of that. The real owner not being there made it a little more precarious, dont' you think?

I don;t think that you over reacted at all. After living in a City Center for 6 years, Monroe and I avoid any and all dogs that are not familar to us while we are on our walks. I also think that the guy watching the dog should have had more control over him.

dogslife

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think I over reacted? Do you think think it was wise of me to holler for help and get the guy to get his dog? what would you have done.

 I am an advocate for Pit Bulls and other bully breeds, but at the same time one should always exercise caution when approaching any loose dog and more so if the dog is of a breed that is large or is a breed that might be known for being more dog aggressive.

  With that being said I must confess that the dogs I most hate passing (loose dogs) are the smaller yappy ones, I have had them running about my heels leaping at my dogs while I am trying to keep Hektor from swallowing them as a snack, their shrill yapping and their tenacity in just running out and leaping back and forth cause my dogs (Hektor mostly) to misbehave more than the large dogs do.

 scary!!

theres been a few attacks on local trails with unleashed dogs attacking horses!!

I would've been scared to death in your shoes!! of course I know that I'd have to stay as calm as possible........it would be difficult though!! 

dogslife

Well, you have kind of expressed what I have been saying all along. This dog was unreadable. He was not wagging a tail or doing anything that most dogs would have done.  Hence, unreadable.

My dogs are always cool, except when that gap gets closer and then there would be no chance to make any other decisions- good or bad!

Point of the thread is to hash out what kinds of things could be done to assure that no harm would be done and what would be the best things to do in such a potential situation.

Of course, maybe this dog was just deaf, or other non visible properties that would not constitute danger...The question is that how are you to know this as a fact?  Simply guesswork in any case ...

If I only had one dog this could have been half the problem.  But it was as it was, between the rock and the hard place.  Dogs are under rule of leash law for a very good reason.  It prevents us from dealing with this the minute we step out the door.  And of course, some meetings of dogs are going to be ok, in fact most of the time.  But when you are the human w/ 2 leashed highly active animals and you have a unleashed, unknown with stocky behavior and unreadable ...And this dog did not live at this home he was out in front of. I do not know where he lives, never saw him before this...I know just about everyone around here amazingly enough. 

You are right, I could not tell what was going to happen next.  But I know my own animals.  My male would not tolerate a stoic animal looking after his sister is one fact that would have made an issue...This other dog was a male...and may have been intact.  If it were a female, I would have been less worried for the given sitch.

It would be cool if I could have made a tape of the sitch and re- review it with others here.  I know that when we get uptight about something, you can miss signals or be hyper alert to them...But all I have is what I saw, and I was there- which of course makes it hard for others to be able to really judge it well.

It was just an unusual sitch. I haven't met up with a dog that would not make any effort to alter his behavior after all of that. The real owner not being there made it a little more precarious, dont' you think?

Don't get me wrong--I'm not saying that you should have reacted any differently.  Loose dogs bug the crap out of me personally, and you are right--you could not read the dog's intentions through his body language, so why take the risk?

I have actually had a similar situation occur in my neighborhood, right in front of my house.  I was bring Jack home from the vet's one day and there was a loose pit just standing on the sidewalk near our house, staring at us--very still, very alert.  I took Jack in immediately and went back out with a leash to try to lure her to me but she seemed afraid and ran off.  I flagged down a passing cop and informed them of the loose dog, and he said that he was aware and they were trying to catch her.

I think it was right of you to call for help if you felt out of sorts about the dog. However I think the fact that it was a pit is more of what you were afraid of rather than the dog it's self. I mean, if it were another huskie what you have been as afraid? I think I would have informed the man that the city law is that the dog is leashed and he might want to put it in the house or back yard, for it's own safty.

Just a few thoughts.

"I think the fact that it was a pit is more of what you were afraid of rather than the dog it's self. I mean, if it were another huskie what you have been as afraid? I think I would have informed the man that the city law is that the dog is leashed and he might want to put it in the house or back yard, for it's own safty. "

Funny you should mention this.  About 4 years ago a similar sitch did happen w/ me and my last mature husky boy, Dakota. He was also a very calm great dog to take on a walk.  There was this husky/malamute loose dog, frequently loose, so I knew who he was...but he did the similar sort of stance, but when I told him to go home, he was not really responsive either, but he did eventually leave on his way... So, I was not quite as fearful because he did leave... although I know he did attack a woman near to me as she walked her little dog- She had to have physical therapy.  A couple years later this same dog attacked our dog officer and was subsequently put down, sadly. He was a beautiful animal, but just was not cared for, let loose all of the time. 

This guy wasn't the owner and I did remind him of the leash law.  If you read I already discussed that and a little more..

I feel sorry for dogs that aren't cared for and just let loose. The families grieve when they get put down and must carry the burden that they did not do something to protect all concerned much better. But this is another topic!

Dealing with loose dogs, in particular the ones you never saw before and how do you read a behavior that looks like it could be trouble? What would be the sign that you are safe?

dogslife

Dealing with loose dogs, in particular the ones you never saw before and how do you read a behavior that looks like it could be trouble? What would be the sign that you are safe?

For the longest time I thought it was all in the tail. If the tail was wagging, the dog was calm. However I was informed by the dog trainer I work with that you need to look at thier mouth. It the mouth is open and the toung is out, then they are in a relaxed state - no worries.  If all you watch for is the wagging tail, which is what I had been doing you could find that they wag because they LIKE to fight.

But yeah, the mouth, keen an eye on it.

Tail position is pretty important. A tail that is held straight up and is wagging stiffly is not a good sign.

High tails tend to suggest dogs who are either confident or think highly of themselves. 

With mouths, if the "lips" are forward, that's a sign of possible aggression. Pulled back indicates fear.  

Tail position and what the dog's mouth is doing is important, right~

 This puppy's tail was cropped and not wagging...and his face was like a "poker face", lol...(can laugh now! ugh), So,  posturing is what is left...

The dogs stance was like a statue, no motion whatsoever...And he just stared . That is it.

After reading about other people/and leashed dogs getting attacked, I am feeling more confidant that I was not over reacting! Not at all.

If it is a fifty fifty chance, rather err in the side of caution, thankyou very much!! Man.

dogslife

This puppy's tail was cropped and not wagging...

Uhm...was it a boxer? I don't see many pits or pit mixes with docked tails...

With all due respect NONE of this specuation of body language applies to a pit bull.

They are bred to never show any signs of their intent and as silly as that sounds you'd be surprised at how bred this is into most of them. Even when they are peaceful loving dogs they still hadly sho intent. Rory and I will be sitting on a park bench and peoplewill be walking by, she will eb laying down, head on the ground, eyes closed, you think she is in her own world and then BAM one person will walk by and she'll bolt up for kisses and lovin. It really scares the crap out of people and me, LOL.

Primo, my male wags his tail ferouciosly when he is nerous or wary of a stranger. I have to pay attention to his ears to see if he means well or not and it has taken me awhile to figure it out.

The one constant I have noticed with this breed as a sign to be wary of is standing stock still. Its a eery calmness before the advance upon its prey. If they are making a bee line to you with a big bully smile then your pretty much in the clear, LOL.